


Mama's Secret Recipe

by infectedscrew



Category: Dragon Age II
Genre: F/M, French fries solve everything, Garrett and Marian are twins, M/M, Modern AU, everyone is a mess, twins au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-07
Updated: 2016-05-07
Packaged: 2018-06-06 21:58:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,974
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6771874
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/infectedscrew/pseuds/infectedscrew
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sometimes bad things are a long time coming but it's nothing Mama's French Fries can't solve.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Mama's Secret Recipe

Very softly he hummed an upbeat tune under his breath, even if his face as close to dead as he could get while his heart still beat in his chest. Honestly he wasn’t even sure that he was humming at all, the rain was beating heavily against his head and along the sidewalk. But the thought that a jaunty song might be leaving his throat was a little uplifting.

Especially considering his utterly miserable night.

His socks were soaked, he’d gotten yelled by no less than three people and the tips of his fingers, despite being shoved into his pockets, were freezing.

“Literally the worst,” he muttered.

“Probably be better if you were out of the rain. Why didn’t you take the bus?”

The soggy, wet steps stuttered to a halt and narrowed eyes turned to glare at the foolish being stupid enough to question his actions.

“I like being able to feel my socks squish between my toes,” he retorted. “What are you doing here Garrett?”

The man, Garrett, looked as if he had been leaning over into his passenger seat when he’d just happened to look up and see the drowned rat masquerading as a person amble past. Without thinking he had instantly lowered the window, despite the onslaught of nature. He had managed to spill words out of his mouth that, somehow, perfectly replied to the grumbling.

“I was trying to find my water bottle, it fell under the seat.”

“Why don’t you just stick your head outside the car, you’ll get more water that way.”

It took serious effort of will for Garrett to not roll his eyes. “Well damn, here I was about to offer a ride in the rain, maybe get some French fries over a Mama’s but no—“

“Mama’s French fries, you say?” The water-logged creature interrupted, reaching over to grip the rapidly dampening window frame to the car door.

Garrett nodded solemnly. “Yes, Mama’s amazing, delicious French fries. But, alas! they will go cold and wasted as I, a lonely man, cannot eat so many.”

The response was a sharp snort and the door being practically ripped open as the rain-victim threw himself into the car. He jammed one cold finger against the window button, propelling it back into the closed position.

“Take me to Mama’s.”

“Can’t even say ‘please’,” he grumbled, starting the car and pulling out onto the street. “Where you raised in a barn, Fen?”

“Yes.”

Garrett raised a finger and pushed it against Fenris’ cheek. “False. I was raised in a barn. And I was being facetious. Anyway, what were you doing out in the middle of the flood without Noah’s Ark?” He asked politely as he started the car and pulled away from the curb, lost water bottle long forgotten.

Reluctantly, the sopping guest crossed his arms across his chest and sunk slightly lower into his seat. The movement only pushed the knit hat on his head almost over his eyes. “What do you care?” He asked into his ruined scarf.

“Just being polite. Plus I like noise, better than listening to you drip all over my nice new car interior.”

A quiet huff sounded. “You’ll just say something stupid like ‘I told you so’ or, worse, laugh.”

“Hey, hey. I’m not Varric. Tell me what’s up? I rarely see you look this grumpy, I mean, unless you count every other day of the week.”

Garrett had to quickly right the car when that earned him a punch to the shoulder. He whined slightly, lifting a hand to his, probably, wrecked bicep.

“I always forget that someone your size packs such a wallop,” he hissed out.

He didn’t even have to turn his head to know that a smug smirk was sitting on the tanned face of his passenger.

“Gonna tell me what happened now?”

Silence dropped over them. It went on for so long that Garrett was convinced he wasn’t going to answer. Just as he was deciding whether or not it might be rude to play obnoxiously loud music, he heard a hitching breath. His eyes widened slightly and he glanced over at the other seat.

“Dude?”

“Marian broke up with me,” Fenris got out in a rush.

Garrett’s mouth dropped open. “No freaking way! She did? Why?”

Fenris’ shoulders lifted and fell as if a great weight was set on them. He hunched further into the seat, going down past the dashboard line. If they crashed he fully hoped that his head slammed into the hard plastic and he died instantly.

“I don’t know, something about it not going the way she wanted and that she needed something else…”

“Is this because of your…”

One dark eyebrow shot to it’s much lighter hairline. “My?” He repeated, eyes narrowed in suspicion.

“Well, I know she’s been hyper stressed ever since your ex-guardian came back.”

“Oh… No, it wasn’t about that. Apparently it was about… Isabella.”

Garrett whistled. “She didn’t..?”

“Cheat? No. It’s just…” Fenris crammed the heels of his palms into his eyes until black spots and static shattered over his vision. “I’ve known this was coming. We don’t hang out nearly as much. She’s almost always with Isabella. I can’t say I blame her. After everything with Danny and my…. Yeah, I’d leave me too, I suck. Fucking blows,” he added in a strangled whisper.

After a short pause Garrett reached over and squeezed Fenris’ knee very briefly.

“You don’t suck. A bit of a dick sometimes but you don’t suck. You’re not Carver, I can tell you that right now.”

That managed to pull a brief laugh from the wounded man. “That’s true. I don’t act like I’ve got barbed wire shoved up my ass.”

“Well…”

Garrett’s hand shot up in defense when he saw Fenris move to hit him again. “Hey, hey! I’m just saying! You’re not Carver and you don’t suck! You’re pretty awesome, I’d date you.”

The sudden burst of words made Fenris sink back into his chair, whether out of shock or satisfaction however, Garrett couldn’t tell. Those green eyes tended to be pretty but unreadable.

“So… Isabella, huh?”

Fenris nodded. “She’s a great woman, she’ll be far better for Marian than I ever will be.”

“That’s very selfless of you.”

“I know what I am. And some people, people like your sister, I am not good for.”

At the next stop light, Garrett shifted to look at Fenris. “Is that why you’re out in the rain?”

“That and they both yelled at me because I broke her coffee table,” Fenris mumbled.

Garrett barked out a laugh, making Fenris stare at him. “I wish I could have seen that happen! That coffee table was hideous!”

“Why aren’t you getting mad at me for ruining your sister’s life?”

“First off, you didn’t ruin her life. I mean, yeah if you hurt her I might have to strap you to the roof of my car and drive it off a cliff. Second, I sort of knew it was coming.”

Fenris paled slightly and Garrett gracefully turned away to continue driving.

“You did?” Fenris asked meekly.

Garrett nodded. “I did. She admitted it last week, or something close. She just didn’t know what to do and was worried that if she broke up with you, you’d… Regress.”

The ghastly paleness abruptly shifted in a flaming crimson, which could not have been healthy for the poor veins in his cheeks.

“I told her that she can’t force herself to stay in something that’s making her unhappy just because she’s worried about your mental health. It doesn’t help anyone in the long run. Plus then you can find someone who might better suited for you,” Garrett explained, managing to shoot only one super pointed look.

“Like you?” Fenris asked after a moment

Garrett grimaced. “Maybe not right now, considering…”

Fenris’ head bobbed in a vague nod. “Right, need time and all that.”

“Right. But hey, I can still get you those French fries. You look like you need them, especially since it looks like you’ve lost weight.”

Fenris glanced down at his bundled form, trying to puzzle out how Garrett would get that impression. He shot the other man a glance but only managed to catch a disappearing smile.

“You do need time though,” Garrett mumbled, but it was unclear whether that was for Fenris or for himself.

The car pulled to a stop and Garrett parked. He unbuckled and stepped out of the car. He did not wait for Fenris to follow him but rushed inside, he didn’t want to be in the rain any longer than he had to be. Fenris, on the other hand, was already wet and had no problem heading into the restaurant at a much more sedate pace.

Once he’d stepped into the blazing warmth of the tiny restaurant, he noticed that Garrett had already found them a booth. He plopped down, his clothes giving a great squelching sound and easily earning a glare from the waitress just stepping up to the table.

“Welcome to Mama’s,” she greeted pleasantly enough, although she kept eyeing Fenris’ growing puddles. “What can I get for you guys tonight?”

“A giant basket of fries and about thirty towels for him,” Garrett announced. “Oh and two hot chocolates.”

The young woman nodded, not even needing to take out her note pad. “Certainly, anything else?”

Garrett looked at his table partner questioningly.

Slowly, after considering, Fenris shook his head.

“Great, I’ll be right back.”

Fenris looked across the table at Garrett who was positively grinning at him.

“Thanks,” he ground out.

Garrett blinked at him, face comically innocent. “What for?”

Fenris shifted, glowering at the table. “For not acting like I’m going to explode on you.”

“Oh, well you still might,” Garrett laughed. He reached his hand across the table, palm up. “But I think you’ll be just fine.”

Fenris dragged his gaze to the hand, open and waiting for him. His nose wrinkled briefly as if he had to muscle his way to decision and it was making his face hurt. He lifted his hand and dropped it onto Garrett’s.

A gasp wrenched its way out of Garrett’s throat and he suddenly squeezed Fenris’ hand on reflex. “Your hand is freezing!”

Fenris attempted to yank his hand back but Garrett wouldn’t let go. He glared across the table. “It’s cold outside! Let go if it bothers you!”

“It doesn’t bother me, I just wasn’t expecting it.” Garrett relaxed his hold but didn’t pull away. “Dude, you’ve always been cool in my book. Like yeah, sometimes you can get angry and no one can figure out why but I don’t hate or blame you for it. Baby steps, you know?”

Before Fenris could respond, the waitress returned with a couple of towels which he gratefully accepted, even if he did have to release Garrett’s hand to do it. He tugged off his hat and jacket, setting them aside on his chair and using the towels to get the worst of it off his arms. He tugged off the knit cap and rubbed warmth back into the tips of his pointed ears.

“Your fries are being made fresh so it’ll be just a couple minutes,” the waitress informed them as she set down the mugs of hot chocolate, gloriously heaped with whipped cream.

“Awesome! Thanks,” Garrett said, snagging his beverage and eagerly taking a lick of the cream.

The waitress nodded and headed off to one of her other tables.

Fenris set the towels aside and looked back to Garrett. The tune popped into his head and he realized that it was way more fitting this time around than his bitter humming from before. It quirked his lips up just slightly.

“Yeah, baby steps,” he mumbled to himself before he lifted his own drink and took a large sip.


End file.
